Austrian Group Appeals for Action Against Anti-semitism in Austria

The Austrian Action Group Against Anti-Semitism appealed today to the government, the churches and to all Austrians to condemn recent anti-Semitic acts. In a statement, the group asked the government to express solidarity with Jewish citizens and to make all efforts to prevent anti-Semitic actions in the future.

The group referred to a series of anti-Semitic actions in the last few days: tombstones in the Jewish section of the Vienna Central Cemetery were desecrated by unidentified vandals, anti-Semitic slogans were daubed on walls of a downtown synagogue and a monument for Sigmund Freud was defaced. The group said such provocations create the wrong impression in the world that Austria is a stronghold for neo-Nazism.

Meanwhile, Austrian police arrested a member of the right-wing organization, Action New Right (ANR) under the suspicion of being involved in the anti-Semitic actions. A police spokesman said the man, whose name was withheld, denied all connections with the incidents. However, ANR, in a statement, complained that Austrian police start to act just as soon as” Jews do a bit of complaining.”